Power Trip
by illusorygentleman
Summary: Spun out of my One Night series, this AU story has the gang gaining super powers thanks to a wish. Action, twists, and shocking moments abound.
1. Andre's Wish

**So I know this is a repeat for many of you reading but I thought, for new readers, I would restate some of the plot and set the scene for what's coming up. To those who haven't read all my One Night stories, you should, but if they aren't your style, this might appeal to those with different sensibilities. Up to this point, the iCarly people have come to LA and are staying with Jade since she and Freddie are an item. Sam has some major issues with this, of course. Tori is dating an OC named Nate who is kinda like a cowboy (not as dumb as it sounds) and I think that covers things pretty well. The night before, Andre made a wish that all his friends would get superpowers, and that brings us to now**

* * *

9 am came way too quickly for Andre Harris who could barely form a coherent thought as his alarm blared next to him. He reached up to hit the snooze button so he could get a bit more sleep but as soon as he touched it, the brand new digital clock exploded with a loud crack, leaving smoking remains behind.

Needless to say, Andre was completely awake now. He stared at the smoldering clock and tried to figure out what happened. He grabbed some clothes and threw them on to see if there was some sort of power surge he wasn't aware of. He could still hear his grandma snoring loudly, so he knew she was ok. He finally reached the fuse box and it seemed to be fine so he figured it was just a weird fluke of an occurrence. He took a deep yawn and considered taking a dive on the couch in the living room to get some sleep, but was stopped cold by a sound.

As he got closer towards the tv, it turned on and was putting out a strange crackling noise that send a chill up his spin. He looked all over for the remote to turn it back off, in case it woke his grandma up, but couldn't find it. Relegated to just reaching for the power button, Andre felt along the bottom, and felt a weird surge from his fingers and the tv shorted out.

Andre toppled back onto the couch and stared at his fingers as blue lines of light began to link his fingers.

"Electricity powers? That's pretty badass and all, but what the hell is going on here?" he asked to no one in particular.

* * *

Halfway across town, the West mansion was awoken to a very loud cracking noise, bringing everyone out of their rooms in a hurry. Carly was wearing a robe that she clearly just threw on. Gibby was fully dressed for some reason, and it was very clear that Freddie and Jade had been interrupted by the noise. She was wearing his clothes and he was just wearing boxers, which did little to hide his erection, so he walked out with a pillow in front of him.

They all stared at Sam, who was standing there in the hallway, holding the heavy white wooden door to her bedroom.

"Sorry…" she muttered, a bit too softly for everyone to hear.

"You're going to be sorry," Jade said sneering and heading down the hallway to strangle the blonde when Freddie reached out and stopped her, but she still managed to pull away.

"Jade, I don't know what happened. I just-"

"You just, what? You are just going to-"

"Umm… Jade" Freddie spoke up.

"Pay for that fucking door for sure."

"Jade?" Carly asked, sheepishly.

"Do you have any idea-"

"Jade!" Freddie shouted at his girlfriend.

"What?!"

"Look at yourself, girl." Sam said, shrinking back.

Jade looked down at Freddie's clothes, which were smoking, but they were slowly getting burned up, revealing her naked form. It was quickly revealed that her skin was what was on fire, seemingly burning the carpet under her feet.

"Holy fuck!" she exclaimed trying to put herself out, despite the fact that she wasn't feeling any kind of pain at all. "What did you do?!" she said, lunging at Sam.

"Stop it!" Carly shouted and stepped in to stop the two girls from fighting and the girls remained separated for a bit, Sam pushed through her and pushed way too hard, knocking Carly back so far that she was not only pushed down the hall but burst through the banister of the stairs.

Freddie threw his arms out to try and catch her, but she was falling too fast. There was a creaking noise from the living room, and if by magic, the couch slid across the room just in time for Carly to land on it. As everyone was staring at Carly's miraculous save, they quickly noticed something even stranger. Freddie's arms were at least 5 feet long, stretched out from his rescue attempt.

Gibby approached Freddie and put his hand on his shoulder to make sure he was ok, and Freddie realized he couldn't pull his arms back. He felt like his arms were just giant wet spaghetti noodles. Jade, still very naked, had managed to cool down and was no longer on fire as she and Sam peered over the banister at the safe Carly, and the seemingly mutant Freddie.

"Gibby, go downstairs and get us some water, if you don't mind," Jade said, calmly. "I need some clothes."

Gibby did as he was told and headed down the stairs to get them some water bottles that were leftover from the party. As if something just clicked, Freddie found his arms beginning to retract a few seconds after Gibby disappeared down the stairs. Just to see if he could do it again, Freddie found himself willing his arms to stretch out further and further and the more he did it, the weirder his body felt, as if he was made of some sort of rubber. He pulled his arms back just as Gibby and Carly headed back up the stairs after moving the couch back.

"So, that was kinda weird," Gibby said astutely.

"Yeah," Jade said, rejoining the group in what looked like several layers of clothes, "pretty odd."

"I think I moved the couch with my mind. Like I needed it and it flew across the room for me."

"Oh cool, Carly can talk to furniture."

All eyes turned to Gibby to mock what he'd just said, but quickly realized that this was definitely a weird enough situation for that to be true.

"Alright, let's run through this really fast. Sam ripped the door off and from the way she pushed Carly, I think she has some sort of super strength. Jade clearly has some sort of fire body when she gets mad. Carly might be telekinetic and I am apparently stretchy now. Gibby, can you do anything?"

All eyes were on the social misfit as he tried to do all the different super powers he could think of. He was doing fine until he decided to see if he could fly and jumped over the banister to the shock of all the teens. Unsurprisingly, he landed with a sickening thud and they all raced down to see if he was ok.

Gibby looked at his arms and saw a bone sticking straight out of his arm. It hurt like nothing he'd ever felt before. But as if by some sort of magic, his arm moved right back into place and the wound healed up within several seconds. By the time his friends reached him, he was almost completely healed up and they stared in mixed amazement and horror as his wounds healed up before their eyes.

"That's pretty awesome," Jade said, the concept of seeing blood always seemed appealing to her, and somehow this actually made her want to see him hurt again.

"Actually, I think I want to test something. I think you have another ability Gibby." Freddie had the others step back as he tested his theory. "I'm going to stretch out and after I do it, touch me."

"Oh… ok," Gibby said, doing as he was told and as soon as Freddie stretched his arms to double their length, Gibby touched Freddie, and his arms fell to the floor. Gibby immediately pulled his hand back and after a few seconds, Freddie was able to pull his hands back up to where they belonged.

"So apparently, you can heal up and you can stop powers from working. That might be useful for Jade if she burns out again."

Jade looked around, feeling embarrassed at her earlier nudity and seeming inability to control her powers, and just sighed. "Puckett, you owe me a door."

"Yeah… I'll pay for it or whatever… I didn't-"

"I know. This all kinda happened... really suddenly."

The two girls just nodded and looked everywhere they could but at each other, things still awkward between them when it came to the Freddie situation.

* * *

When Andre headed over to Tori's place, there were a lot of things that he was expecting. Trina Vega only wearing a pair of panties and sprawled on top of the family car was not on that list. He rushed over to make sure she was ok.

"Do I look 'ok' to you?!" she shouted. "And don't look at me!"

Trina sat up and covered herself up as she raced around to pound on the front door. A few seconds later, Tori answered it, in a towel, fresh out of the shower it seemed, looking just as frazzled as her sister. She tried to put on a friendly smile when she saw Andre but it was clear she was freaked out.

"You alright, girl?"

"Honestly?" she asked as he nodded. "Not at all. I'm really freaked out. Something's wrong with me and Trina."

"I might beat that, but what's wrong?"

"Ok, this is going to sound completely insane, but I think she and I got superpowers this morning."

Andre was stunned, and wondered if this was connected to what happened to him this morning. "Go on…"

Tori was surprised that he seemed to believe her story, so she explained. "So, I was in the bathroom getting ready for my shower when Trina barged in and took up all the space. I of course blessed her out and we got into one of our standard sister fights, but then something weird happened. I put my hand up to signal that I was done with her and for her to just stop, and water just shot out of my hand, like I had some super soaker in my palm. Trina freaked out and was knocked back by and she just fell through the wall. Like she just went right through the wall. It was insane. And even crazier, all her clothes didn't go through. Thus why she was naked."

Andre stood there in stunned silence as Trina slowly made her way back down the stairs, now fully dressed and careful not to get too close to her sister.

"You tell him what you did to me?"

"I did the water thing, but you're the one who went through the wall. I had nothing to do with that." Tori looked back at Andre, and looked as confused but seemed more excited as she thought about it. "I practiced it a little bit and I think I can control it. Oh, and when I thought I killed Trina, I did this."

Andre and Trina stepped back with gasps as Tori literally melted in front of him, her towel dropping into the puddle at their feet. Andre was very careful not to touch the water, unsure how it would work given his new powers. The puddle quickly reformed into the very naked Tori who covered herself with the towel which was also as dry as it could be.

"Cool, huh?"

"It's fucking gross is what it is, Tori," Trina's whiny voice called out.

"I might not be able to beat that, but this is what I could do when I woke up," Andre said, rubbing his hands together and slowly pulled them apart weaving sporadic neon blue bolts of electricity that formed almost a web between his fingers.

"That is so cool," Tori said, reaching out to touch them but Trina grabbed her arm like lightning.

"Are you fucking brain dead?! You're water. He's electricity. Do you not understand science?!"

Tori shook her head, amazed that it was her sister who somehow got smart and saved her from whatever would happen if they touched.

"So we've all got powers," Andre said, with a deep breath that showed he was a little excited for this. "If the three of us got them, maybe the others got some too."

"That's a thought," Tori said, searching through her phone, trying to decided who to call first.

"I was thinking we should try and meet up and talk and maybe somebody might remember what happened last nigh that could have caused this," Andre seemed confident, but inside he had a feeling his wish for superpowers might very well be the reason.

Tori was going to respond, but her phone rang and it was Jade. She quickly answered it and talked for only a few seconds before she shut the phone and looked at her sister and best friend. "Jade says we need to get over there right now. I think all her people have whatever this is too."

"Guess that settles it, I'm gonna hit up Robbie and Beck and I'll meet you over there. You wanna call Nate?"

Tori looked around, unsure of whether or not she really wanted to. "I-"

"You need to tell that boy the truth. Cowboy's crazy about you and you're only putting off breaking his heart. You're better than that, girl."

Tori just hung her head in shame. "I'll check on Nate and Cat and then me and Trina will see you at Jade's."

As Andre walked out, Trina shot a glare at her sister, as if to further shame her for stringing Nate along, but Tori made a gun with her fingers and shot a small stream of water at her sister's face, but it passed right through.

* * *

It took almost an hour for everyone to get in touch with one another and head over to Jade's place. Tori and Trina sought Nate out first, and found him doing chores and wearing gloves, cleaning up some brush outside his ranch house outside and while he acted like everything was cool, Tori could tell something was off. When they finally prompted him with questions about powers, he sighed and took his gloves off and crouched to the ground and put his hand to it as if he was looking for a heartbeat. A few seconds later, a giant hand made of grass, rocks, and dirt popped up several feet from them. The girls were amazed but he was just as surprised to see that they had abilities as well.

After Nate joined them, they headed to Cat's place and they didn't have to look far or even ask if something was different with her. The petite redhead was fast. She waved from her bedroom as they pulled up and before they could even get their doors open, she was all over the car, so excited by what she could do. Nate threw a bunch of things as hard as he could and was easily amused when Cat raced off to fetch them. After a quick explanation of what they could do, Cat hopped in the car and they headed over to Jade's.

A few minutes before he reached Beck's trailer, Andre got a call from him and he sounded really off. He wouldn't talk about his powers but as Andre pulled into the driveway, Beck met him, and it was blatantly clear that something was wrong. Beck was almost blue. The normally tanned and coiffed teen now had what seemed like really stiff hair and his skin seemed as if he had frozen to death. Andre was half right as Beck illustrated that he could not only freeze things with a touch, he could also do it by being close to something fragile, as a shattered glass illustrated. A quick display of Andre's power convinced Beck to throw on a hoodie to hide his skin, and to come along to head to Jade's where everyone else apparently also had abilities.

Before they got there, they stopped to talk to Robbie who was completely unchanged and didn't have any powers that he could speak of. After seeing Beck, who, once exposed to Robbie's warm house began to drift back to his normal color, Robbie was convinced to join the gang and see what was going on, and why he might not have gotten any.

At the West mansion, the teens were all hanging out in the den and waiting for the others to arrive. Carly had called her brother twice but he still had not called her back, and all she could get was his voicemail. She was getting worried. He never even mentioned that he was going out last night, and it was really unlike him to not be around for a long period of time.

Just as the two cars pulled up with all the others, Spencer pulled in and carefully shut his door and headed inside with the others. He motioned to Carly to come talk to him, but she rushed him with a hug.

"Look, kiddo, I think I need to go to the hospital. I'm sorry I haven't called but my phone kinda got… tornado'd."

"Your phone got a tornado?" she asked half smiling as she tried to make sense of him.

"Kinda… I, uh, and this is going to sound-"

"Just tell me, Spence,"

"Ok… I woke up and when I tried to answer the phone half asleep, it kinda started spinning and it was like there was this mini tornado and then Amy's room just kinda exploded and there were papers everywhere and I honestly think that I caused it. Like I had to really focus, but I think I stopped everything from blowing all over the place. It's probably not safe for me to be inside, and-"

"Spence," Carly said, patting his shoulder, "I've been calling to tell you that we all have similar problems. I think we have super powers."

"Please don't use that phrase," Robbie said groaning. "The words are like rubbing salt on my wound. I didn't get any kind of powers."

"Oh, quit bitching," Jade said, smacking Robbie in the arm, a small flame staying on his shirt which she quickly put out. "At least you haven't burned through two good outfits just because you're 'mildly' upset." She led everyone through the house, and took them into her spacious backyard. "I figure we could kinda do what we need to do out here, that way everything in the house should be pretty safe."

One by one, they each showed what they could do, except Gibby who stayed inside so he wouldn't risk messing anybody's up. Jade pulled her thumb from her palm like she was striking a match and created a flame in her hands. Freddie stretched his arms out almost 15 feet to grab his girlfriend and pull her close. Sam sneered at them and punched the ground in front of her, sending a mild shockwave over the nearby soil. Cat ran really fast around the yard. Andre shot a spark from his fingertips. Beck covered the ground in a wave of frost and ice. Trina walked through the door to enter and exit but ran right into the door on her attempt to walk out, apparently getting too close to Gibby which stopped her powers. Tori shot water jets from her hands. Nate used his powers to patch up Sam's mess and made the ground look perfect again. Carly lifted Cat off the ground a few feet before she got a headache and had to stop. Finally, Spencer drummed up the courage to show what he could do, and with a heavy focus used a heavy wind to blow a few of the girls backwards.

Try as he might, Robbie couldn't do any of these things. He also tried to jump up and fly, make copies of himself, test himself to see if he was super smart, and even shouted every 'magic' word from Abra Kadabra to Shazam in an effort for something to happen. Sadly, nothing did, and eventually everyone got tired of watching him fail and went inside one by one.

"Sorry, Robbie…" Trina said, patting his back softly. "I don't know what your power is, but I'm sure you'll find it. Even if you don't have one, it's ok, right?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Trina… Just don't talk about it."

Trina looked puzzled for a moment, and looked like she was struggling for words. "Fine then, be that way!" she shouted.

"Why don't you go walk into a door some more, Trina."

Trina got up and Robbie turned to apologize for his outburst but she actually did just that. She was running herself into the door over and over.

He rushed over to her and told her to stop and checked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt, and besides some minor redness, she was.

"What was that, Robbie?!" she shouted. "I knew I was going to hurt myself but I couldn't stop. Why did you make me-"

"I didn't mean to…" he said softly, slowly realizing that this might be his ability. The power of mind control or persuasion or something. He waved his arms and shouted for everyone to come back out which they did, and he was unsure if it was because he asked or because his power was working. "Andre, can I borrow you… and Nate for a minute?"

The two teens nervously stepped forward, hoping this wasn't going to be something stupid.

"Alright, Andre, please shoot some of that lightning at Nate now."

Nate shot him a look that screamed "what the hell?" but the fact that Andre did as he was told, was much more jarring, and Nate was knocked back, sending a wave of dirt and rock to knock Andre down."

"Are you out of your damn mind?!" Nate shouted at Robbie and then at Andre who was shaking his head. "You coulda electrocuted me!"

"Sorry, but I know electricity is not very effective against rock and ground stuff."

Freddie pushed past the others, with an annoyed look on his face. "Did you really just use Pokemon logic?"

Robbie shrugged. "I was right, wasn't I? Anyway, I think my power is to persuade people."

"Great," Jade said, rolling her eyes, "I burn through all my clothes and puppet boy gets to be the Puppet Master."

Freddie rushed next to her and whispered, "If you're making a Marvel supervillain reference, I'm pretty sure I will be compelled to propose right here."

"If I lied, and said I was, would you still do it," she shot a smile back and the two shared a quick peck on the lips.

Everyone went back in the house as it seemed like it might rain at any given time. They all sat down in a circle and began to give each other looks, waiting to see who was going to speak up. Finally, a hand shot up.

"I don't mean to pull rank here, but I'm the oldest by like a decade," Spencer said, looking all around the group. I know I'm just Carly's brother and I think we need to get to the bottom of why this happened before we go out and show everybody this stuff. Not to mention half of us can't control the stuff."

"But those of us who can should be able to do whatever we want, right?" Trina asked, "I could really use this skill to be a star because nobody else can do what I do."

"That's pretty selfish, Trina… We could do a lot of good trying to help people," Andre said, pointing out the door. "We got these powers, we can work on them while we go out and try and make things better."

"Are you saying we should be heroes?" Robbie said, smirking. "Because I was thinking that if it was just for a day, we could try it. We could be heroes-"

"I swear to God, if you're making a song based joke, I'm going to wring your neck?" Jade said, looking so annoyed, she could catch fire any second.

"Maybe you should just strangle your boyfriend instead," Robbie said calmly, and Jade, as if in a trance, reached towards Freddie's throat. "Nevermind, sorry," he said apologetically.

"This is my point," Spencer said standing up and pointing at Robbie. "We're still just kids, and yes, I'm including myself because I'm basically a big kid. But I can see when something is over our heads and that is this. It would be way too easy to not be able to control this stuff or to use it for the wrong reasons."

"Maybe we should take a vote," Carly said, coming to her brother's defense. "There seem to be three ideas here and there's 13 of us so we should be able to vote."

"I'm out," said Gibby. "I can't really do anything except stop other people so don't count me."

"Alright… guess that makes it 12," Freddie said, preparing to preside over the vote. "All those in favor of using the powers however we want?"

Trina raised her hand, surprising no one, and Beck and Robbie joining her didn't come as a huge surprise. With Beck's look he couldn't exactly maintain the secret and Robbie was already seeming a little drunk with power. The real surprise though was Sam. She turned her face away so she wouldn't have to look at them and see their judgment as she voted.

"Alright, that's four. How many vote we should be out using the powers to help people, like heroes or something?"

Andre raised his hand high- this was his wish that caused this and he had every intention of taking on the great responsibility that came with his great power. Tori, ever the good hearted one, raised her hand which prompted Nate to do the same. Cat sheepishly raised her hand, just muttering "I could make costumes really fast now."

There was a slight laugh as Freddie saw that there were four votes left. "And those in favor of keeping this a total secret and not using our powers unless it's important?"

Freddie raised his own hand along with Carly and Spencer and Jade joined the count. It was 4-4-4, which meant nothing was being solved.

"Maybe," Andre said, trying to be cool, "we should do what we want to do. We can just stick with the people that agree with what we want to do. I don't think any of us are going to expose those who want to keep this a secret. And I don't think I can tell you guys what you can and can't do with the powers."

As everyone mumbled silently and they all shared glances which displayed exactly how they felt about this whole situation before heading out the door to go their separate ways and maybe talk about this again in a few days when everyone had some time to think about this.

As Andre got in his car with Beck and Robbie, he looked at his friends and had a really bad feeling about those two. He couldn't help but think a few things to himself, at the forefront, this superpower wish may have been a really bad idea…

* * *

**So, here we have the essential prologue of the story, and new content should be on its way very soon. This is very different from what I've done in the past, so it might be a bit awkward until I can find the right footing and voice here. There will be plenty of action coming and some surprises for sure. Thanks for reading and I'm eager for feedback.**


	2. Chapter 1

**So, it took long enough, but the next chapter is finally done. I know it is a bit different but I hope everyone enjoys.**

* * *

It had been a week since everyone had woken up with amazing powers. The Seattle based iCarly's were planning to leave a couple days after the incident, but their plans got derailed when Spencer nearly tore the RV in half when his powers overwhelmed him. After his new girlfriend, Amy, threw him out of her apartment when he wrecked it, he had taken to sleeping in the RV, feeling somehow creeped out about staying inside Jade's house. One night, during an especially real nightmare, Spencer started a whirlwind, and by the time he had woken up, it was too late to do much of anything. The camper was currently getting repaired at a nearby auto shop. When asked what happened, the eldest Shay mentioned that a freak mini tornado came through where they were staying. Which was, honestly, about half right.

Those that had voted together seemed to be sticking together. At Jade's house, Carly, Freddie, and Jade each tried their best to get a feel for their powers in secret. Spencer tried his best too, but it was usually outside, at night and he was having far less luck getting his emotions in check, so he spent most of his time watching over the others, eager to help if they needed it. Carly had managed to really get a handle on her power, but she really needed to focus for it to work. Any distraction or fear and she just couldn't pull things off. Jade and Freddie had both really mastered their powers, but it seemed to be at the cost of their relationship. While Jade could control her powers as long as she could focus, but, like Spencer, if her emotions became too great, she would burn things around her. This of course, made her immense sex drive problematic since she could only get so far into it before her fire would begin burning her plastic boyfriend. Which, really, was problem number two. Freddie had become extremely rubbery and was learning to make shapes with his body, but his skin was beginning to feel more like a mannequin's. They desperately wanted each other and they still loved each other, but being physical was just too difficult, even if Freddie's stretching could do some pretty amazing things in bed. Gibby also remained in the house, but rarely left the room unless to eat, afraid of bothering the others from their power handling, half out of jealousy and half out of feeling kinda useless.

Tori, Nate, Andre, and Cat had chosen to spend most of their daytime hanging out at Tori's house, though they rarely ever saw Trina. Their nights, however, were spent quite a bit differently. True to their plan, they had decided to become vigilantes to help protect the city. Cat, using her speed and her innate costume making ability had even made them some crime-fighting outfits. Cat realized, in addition to moving very fast, that she was also thinking really fast. She could read thick books and novels in only a minute or two, but it came at a real price. She was hungry all the time since her metabolism was in maximum overdrive. The others were also dealing with their own drawbacks. Andre had some insane static cling, and it seemed like everything that could stick to him, did. Nate had developed a very big problem with vertigo, as if being away from the ground made him weak. Tori, who was doing fine overall, was however suffering from the same power control issues that Jade was, finding herself turning into a puddle whenever her emotions took hold. Other than that, however, her ability to blast gallons of water from her body was proving quite useful.

Despite the power setbacks, the team had managed to stop a few crimes, including a purse snatching and a couple gang attacks. There was also a mugging that Andre and Tori tried to handle together, but when their powers accidentally intersected, they nearly killed the criminal. Cat and Nate ran into a similar incompatibility problem when his earthquakes stopped her from being able to run, tripping the redhead before she could reach a fleeing robber. Tonight, however, the four of them believed that would finally get this act down pat.

On the other side of town, near an abandoned construction site, the last four teens spent most of their time. Beck's dad had found the place and once he knew that it would be deserted for a while, he decided to move his trailer out there, far from his family. He still had not shown his blue face to his family, but he had discovered that by keeping himself as warm as possible, his skin color was just passably normal. His powers however were incredible, able to freeze a whole room with a flex of his hand, and could shoot ice beams with remarkable accuracy. Of course, he had a lot of practice in the construction site with Sam, Trina, and Robbie. Sam had yet to find her peak strength, but she still hadn't mastered the gentleness required for everyday tasks, ripping doors off and nearly breaking Beck's arms during every practice. Part of Sam was really sad not to be with Freddie, but the thought of him with Jade just increased her fury. She had even considered going after Beck again, but the one time she tried, his body was just too cold, and she knew it couldn't work.

Trina had luckily learned to keep her clothes on when she'd phase out, and managed to control her body so she could phase with objects and people. She did however constantly have a problem of maintaining focus and she could only phase for as long as she could hold her breath which took a few days to really master. Much like Jade and Freddie's problem, when she would fool around with Robbie (something that seemed inevitable since he was becoming more confident), she was apt to fall right through the bed, and the room at times. Robbie seemed to be pretty happy to have Trina back, both of them putting the past behind them. He was extremely careful about using his powers around his three friends, knowing that his psycho-mimetic abilities could really put off the others and make them overly suspicious that he might be misusing the power.

The four friends spent a whole night trying to figure out what to do for their first act out in public to announce their existence. Somehow the topic of robbing a bank came up, and no one seemed to have any real objections, and they all could certainly use some money. They even came up with a contingency plan for if their friends showed up. And so they came up with a plan.

* * *

It had been two days since Robbie had gotten a hold of the bank's schematics and developed the best plan to commit their 'funding' crime. At 11pm exactly, the four abandoned Beck's truck about three blocks from the bank and slunk towards the empty bank, trying not to make themselves noticeable. Everyone had a very specific role, and if everything went according to plan, then no one would get hurt and they would have zero complications.

"We have to do this fast…" Trina said, reaching her arms out. "I can't really hold this for long with three people hanging all over me.

"Then let's go," Sam said, coldly, gripping her left arm while the guys took her right.

Trina let out a few quick groans as she pushed all of them through the thick bank walls with her, taking all her strength to get everyone inside.

Once inside, Robbie headed for where the guards would be, and just like he had expected there were only two of them.

"Hey kid!" one of them shouted, placing his hand on his gun.

"Relax guys," Robbie said as the men slouched before him. "You never saw me and you need to go grab some dinner down the street and come back in an hour."

Just like he expected, the two guys casually let themselves out, and locked the door behind them, never to give the teens a problem again.

While Robbie was doing his puppet master thing, Beck was working on the security cameras. He took out each of the cameras without a single problem, the task becoming like a game after a while. Once all of them were done, he headed to Robbie and the security area, where he completely destroyed the computer console, freezing it so hard that it began to crack. Beck and Robbie shared a quick high five, which caused Robbie to pull his hand back quickly when the searing cold touch his skin, as they headed to the back where the girls were busy.

At the vault, Trina was trying to work up her strength to do another phase session. "You're going to have to give me a minute…" she said, taking deep slow breaths.

"Dude, quit your bitching. Let's do this."

Trina rolled her eyes as she took Sam's hand and the two entered the vault, which was lined with tons of boxes and metal containers. Sam smiled for the first time as she went to work as the muscle.

"This is actually kinda fun," she said, punching boxes and panels and prying them open to try and collect as much cash as possible. Trina went to work on the other side, reaching inside for any sort of cash that she could find. Finally, Trina looked around and saw what they should have been looking for all along.

"You know, you could try the actual steel boxes with cash in them instead of utterly destroying those safety deposit things…"

"You know you could not be such a cunt." After a few seconds of angry stares, Sam ripped open the mother load, revealing stacks upon stacks of cash. "Bingo," Sam said, a smile creeping across her lips as she pulled two heavy duty trashbags from her jacket.

Beck and Robbie could hear some noises from inside the vault, mostly the two girls sniping at one another, as they waited patiently for the girls, every so often seeing Trina's hand come out of the hard metal and dropping a bag off, catching the tail end of a "bitch," "whore," and the ever popular "twat". Once the third one was dropped out, Trina and Sam emerged from the vault together, each looking ready to kill the other.

Once all four of them had gotten everything out, Trina took them through the walls, one by one, making the job easier, instead of nearly giving herself an aneurism phasing three people, plus their loot, again.

As the teens celebrated and headed to Beck's truck that was parked a couple blocks away, they quickly realized, as a small fist flew at Beck's face, sending him onto his back a few feet away, that they may have celebrated a bit too early.

"Oh my god!" Cat exclaimed, realizing who she just hit. Behind her, three other figures emerged from the night. Each was dressed in a specific color. Cat was naturally in a pink outfit with speed lines, Andre had a white outfit on with little lightning bolts all over it. Tori's was a light blue and featured waves. All clearly the work of a child… or someone with a childlike mentality.

"What are you doing, Trina?!" Tori shouted at her sister, realizing that the bank robbery that would put them on the map as heroes was being perpetrated by her sister and her ex boyfriend. Seeing Robbie and Sam as the other criminals sent a wave of sadness and anger to the youngest Vega.

"This is none of your business, Tori!" Trina shouted back. "And you guys look ridiculous… Did Cat make those?"

"I actually don't hate them," Nate said, stepping up beside his girlfriend, revealing his hunter green and brown uniform.

"Oh, well if the guy who looks like he's wearing vomit likes them…" Trina responded snidely before Robbie put his hand on her arm.

"Tori… this isn't a big deal," Robbie said, stepping forward, "This place is insured, and no one is really losing this money."

"That don't matter, man!" Andre said, afraid he'd have to use his power on his friends. "Doesn't change the fact that this is seriously wrong."

"Look, guys," Beck said, getting up and dusting himself off before calmly touching the wall behind him. "We're going to take this money, and you do not want to try and stop us. We can sit here and talk about right and wrong, but you guys don't want to get caught with us and the longer we stand here, the guiltier you're going to look when the real cops show up."

"No! This is bad! You're doing bad things!" Cat shouted as she sped towards them, but thanks to Beck slowly and subtly icing the area around them, Cat lost her balance and sped herself right into a brick wall, nearly knocking herself out.

"See what I mean?" Beck asked, preparing himself for the others to respond as well. "We don't want to hurt you guys, but we are going to walk out of here."

"Like hell you will, you bastard!" Tori said angrily, raising her arm and aiming her spouting fingertips at the four of them, her body looking more and more like liquid.

"I'm really sorry… but Andre, please stop Tori."

Upon hearing Robbie's words, Andre did as he was told, and as soon as his hand touched the Latina teen, the two of them dropped like violently shaking ragdolls before Nate stepped in to separate them.

"Ok, you guys have seriously pissed me off," the Texas born 'hero' said, tossing his hand forward as a giant rock hand rose up beneath them. Robbie and Beck managed to get out of the way, but Trina and Sam were grabbed tight by it. Trina phased once more, setting the two girls free.

"My turn," Sam said coldly picking the rocky arm up from the ground and swinging it like a baseball bat. Nate was struck hard and launched at least a quarter mile before landing on a car, setting off the alarm.

With their opposition decently handled, the four criminals ran, trying to resist feeling guilty, to Beck's truck and drove away, as Trina looked out the back and hoped that Tori wasn't seriously hurt.

* * *

It took almost a half hour with Beck taking all the back roads before Trina, Robbie, and Sam made it back to their 'hideout.' The four were feeling completely wired from their heist and their great escape from their friends. Despite making plans for that possibility, they were completely surprised by how easily their friends had gone down. This surprise certainly didn't assuage the guilt for almost all of them. The four 'heroes' had made the papers a couple times, and Robbie was actually a bit scared of them. But his plan really worked, from the bank robbery to the systematic defeat of the others. They rushed from the truck into Beck's trailer where they went to counting what they had gathered up.

After nearly two hours, they had come up with just short of $400,000, which meant that each of them was walking away with almost a hundred thousand dollars. The money was separated into four stacks, bagged and was quickly hidden away by all four of them together, taking an oath, each one hoping that the others wouldn't try and steal it all.

Now that all the business was over, the four grabbed a couple cases of beer which Beck cooled off for them, and they all set out to drink their guilt away and celebrate themselves for doing the impossible. Despite everyone feeling like talking, nobody said much of anything for the next couple hours.

Eventually, Robbie and Trina hobbled over to his car, both incredibly drunk and managed to land in his roomy backseat. Robbie had no business trying to fool around with Trina at this point, and he knew with this level of intoxication that he wouldn't be able to perform, but that didn't stop him from trying. After an awkward twenty minutes, the two teens fell asleep on each other, desperate for warmth as Robbie's mouth, unashamedly latched onto her voluptuous chest for most of the night.

Beck tried to get a bit closer to Sam, his cool attitude now matched by his physical form, and she just got the chills from the touch of his hand. She was still attracted to him for sure, but this just felt really awkward. She didn't want to be alone, and yet she didn't want to be touched. In a lot of ways, it reminded her a lot of what happened with Spencer. Luckily, Beck took the hint, and stopped his romantic assault. Once they felt drunk enough, they slept in the trailer, but certainly not together, Beck gladly giving the tired blonde his bed as he crashed on the couch, watching her and, as he looked into a window and saw his reflection, for the first time since he got his powers, hated what he had become.

* * *

It was nearly three in the morning when four very exhausted and defeated teens arrived at the West mansion. They barely had the strength to knock, and after several minutes, Jade answered the door in her sexiest robe, and was utterly surprised by the damaged teens before her.

"What the fuck happened to you guys? And what the fuck are you wearing?"

"Jade…" Tori started, and then felt herself grow weak as she collapsed on the welcome mat.

The others helped her into the house and they all buckled on the couch as Carly, Spencer, and Freddie headed downstairs to see what all the commotion was about. Jade ran to the kitchen and got some drinks for the four of them. Tori's hair was standing on end and her skin was flushed. Andre looked very similar, but he was clearly the in the best shape of the four. Cat was still her bubbly self, but she was holding her nose up, holding blood back from busting it on the wall. Nate looked the absolute worst, his head was bleeding a bit and he was covered it cuts, scratches, and the beginnings of serious bruising.

"What's going on?" Freddie asked, sitting across from the visitors.

"We have a major problem," Andre said. "Your girl, Beck, Trina, and my boy Robbie robbed a bank tonight."

"What?!" Carly exclaimed. "Sam? I mean, she's… but she wouldn't, right?" she looked back and forth at the others hoping that someone would agree with her.

"I don't know, Carls…" her brother said, rubbing her shoulder. "Sam's always been an impulsive character."

"And I've lost count of the times she's been to juvie," Freddie chimed in.

"Whatever," Carly said. "So what happened?"

"Well, they used their powers to get in and out of there pretty easily and took a lot of money from the look of it." Nate said, rubbing his head where he had a massive knot from being flung into a car.

Cat chimed in, "We dried doo sdop dem, bud-"

"…But," Tori said, "We got our asses handed to us, is what happened."

Nate stroked her hair, and saw that some pieces were severely frayed from her accident with Andre.

"I'm really sorry about that, Tor," Andre said, looking back at her as several strands fell out. "I just-"

"I know… you were kinda under Robbie's control. I'm not mad at you. I'm more angry at Trina."

"So…" Jade said, tying her bathrobe tighter. "Much as I hate to be the bitch her which I don't, why exactly are you four in my house at this hour?"

"That's the thing… I think we need your help," Tori said, taking a deep breath. She knew Jade and the others didn't really want to use their powers if they could help it. "All of you, if possible."

"If you guys got your butts kicked, what exactly do you expect us to do?" Freddie asked.

"For starters," Andre said, "Numbers are always a good thing. And I thought you might be able to talk some sense into your girl, and that's their bruiser out of the way. Add you guys' powers, and Jade could melt whatever Beck puts out, and you iCarly's might be able to stop the others with some telekinesis or stretching or wind or-"

"Look… I know this is some heavy stuff." Spencer said, heading for the stairs. "But my powers are way more dangerous and out of my control… I probably should sit this one out. Besides, I think someone needs to stay with Gibby. I'm kinda worried about him."

Freddie, Jade, and Carly shared a few looks before finally agreeing to join the other four first thing in the morning. Jade took a deep yawn and showed the others to three empty rooms, each equipped with showers, so that Tori and Nate could share while Cat and Andre got a room to themselves. Once they were settled, she joined Freddie in her bed and the two held each other, afraid that tomorrow was going to change everything.

* * *

**So there we have it. An update and a catalyst for everything to come. I hope you enjoyed and please, regardless of your feelings, please review. I always appreciate feedback. I actively look forward to what you all think of it. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon enough.**


	3. Chapter 2

**So this took considerably longer to finish than I thought, thanks to family visits, sickness, and way too much work. Not a lot to say besides that I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

As the sun rose, the light waking up those it touched, Tori Vega stretched out her arms, and then immediately regretted that decision. For a couple reasons. One, she was incredibly sore from the fight last night; and two, she punched Nate right in the face, waking him up.

"Oh my god… I'm so sorry, babe."

"It's cool," he said, smiling, clearly trying to hold on to his sleep as best he could. It took him a long time to get there the night before, but it was less to do with the pain, and more the fact that he was sharing a bed with his goddess. He watched her sleep for a bit, smelling her hair, and wishing that she would feel about him the way he felt about her.

The whole night was a new experience for him across the board. In addition to his first super fight and sharing a bed with Tori, he also saw her naked for the first time. The two decided to shower before bed, and as Tori was coming out so he could go into the bathroom, he caught a complete look at her, and he prayed she didn't notice before he shut the door.

Tori definitely noticed, and honestly, with the lack of sex in their relationship, she wondered if he was even into her. His ogling made it very clear how he felt, and she unashamedly touched herself a bit as she got some clothes on imagining his strong hands pawing at her body. Hearing his shower cut off sent her out of her fantasy, and she quickly finished dressing and got into bed, feeling a bit embarrassed in herself. So, needless to say, the punch only added to the awkwardness the couple was experiencing.

Despite their soreness, they held each other through the night and Tori happily fell asleep on his broad chest, while he casually kissed her head. They continued cuddling for a few minutes after they woke up, until. before there was fast and heavy knocking on their door.

"Tori! Nate!" the high voice called.

Once both were dressed enough, they opened the door to see Cat, who was clearly already up and ready to go.

"You're looking better this morning," Tori commented, noticing that both of them were pretty battle damaged, but Cat looked almost perfect.

"Yeah… you know Gibby, Carly and Freddie's friend? He touched my nose, and for the first time, I felt completely better. But I'm having trouble with my speed."

"Figures," Nate said, "Last week when we were testing powers, that guy couldn't be near any of us. Said it was cause touching him would put a right stop to our powers for a bit. But if he can heal us, I think I might be taking him up on that."

The three headed into the den where Gibby was sitting and eating a Pop Tart.

"Sup' guys?"

"Not too much, Gibby." Cat said softly. "Hey would you mind doing for Tori and Nate what you did for me. They need some help."

"You know if I touch you, you can't use your powers for a while, right?"

"Yeah… of course," Tori said, stepping forward, and Gibby looked her over and touched her forearm, and held his hand there for a few minutes. The color returned to her hair and her skin regained some its color. Truth be told, she never felt better.

Nate stepped up and Gibby did the same for him, Nate giving him a casual "Thanks," before walking away, feeling a bit off being touched on by another guy.

Just like Gibby expected, once the three of them got what they needed, they headed off together, leaving him alone once again. He'd become a tool for them. He got up and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water to make himself feel better, and on his way back he tripped, and though he saved the glass, the water was all over the hardwood kitchen floor.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, trying to find a towel, and if hadn't turned at that moment, he would have missed the water sliding across the floor and up the cabinet to the sink, where it went into the drain. He was utterly amazed and for just a second, he thought his very dry hands were dripping water from them. "This is… different," he muttered, deciding to keep this a secret from the others.

* * *

After breakfast, Tori decided to head out while the others came up with some sort of a plan to find their messed up friends. She had been the one to drive them all there so it worked perfectly or her. Tori's destination was unquestionably her house, hoping to find Trina there and talk some sense into her sister. As she pulled into her driveway, she saw that Trina's car was definitely still in the driveway.

The youngest Vega burst into her house and found her parents sitting at the table. Despite supposedly not being on duty, her dad was dressed in his uniform.

"I was wondering if we were going to see you, honey…" her mom said softly, not looking up from the paper.

"Sorry, I just was too tired to drive home from Jade's last night," she said, only really half lying. The truth was she didn't know if she could have even made it home. "You ok, dad?" she said, narrowing her eyes at her very angry and tired looking father.

"Yeah, sweetie, I'm fine. Just really don't want to go in today. You see the paper?"

"No… why?"

"Because it's been all over the news," he said taking a long sip of coffee. "I got a call last night while I was on duty. Some people last night broke into the bank downtown"

Tori tried to hide her guilt that she knew who was responsible.

"It's the damnedest thing though… All the doors were locked, the guards were there all night and never saw a thing, but somehow their computers and all the security measures were destroyed. Some water leak over the computers that must have been connected to outside because it was practically frozen. Other than that, the bank looks spotless. Until the vault. The vault was never opened but it looked like some animal destroyed half the boxes. Stole hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Tori had no idea her sister and friends had taken that much. This was insane. "That's… crazy dad. Seriously."

"I haven't gotten to the really weird thing. Outside the bank, the ground was a mess and someone's car was completely totaled. Roof destroyed and everything."

"Whoa…" she feigned wonder, "that's the weirdest thing I've ever heard."

"You seen your sister?" her mom asked, finally looking up at Tori.

Tori shook her head. "I haven't seen her really for a few days."

"I hope she's not dating that Shapiro kid," her dad said. "That kid gives me the creeps."

"C'mon, Dad, Robbie is really nice and he really cared about Trina, and you know how hard that can be." He parents shared a look, acknowledging that Tori had a point. "Besides, Robbie makes Trina more bearable and he wouldn't hurt her."

"Doesn't change the fact that he has that creepy puppet all the time."

Tori really didn't feel like being Robbie's advocate any longer, and given what he did to her last night, she was shocked she even gave him that. She wanted to blame Beck for Robbie following his orders, but Robbie should have stopped him.

Once she knew that her sister was not around, Tori changed clothes and relaxed for a bit, her water powers almost fully back to normal. Before grabbing some needed essentials for the others, she kissed her parents goodbye and headed back to Jade's to see how the others were doing.

* * *

Back at Jade's, Freddie was hard at work on his laptop, Carly's laptop, and on Jade's computer, going back and forth with his stretched arms and legs. The others constantly looked at him like he was crazy, but he actually appreciated the astonishment that the others gave him. Learning to use this power meant he had to get control of like every molecule in his body. Every atom felt like it could do anything. He hadn't tried anything crazy yet, but his powers were definitely growing at an exponential rate. The only time he would ever really feel bad was when he'd look at Jade. Somehow getting all this fire-power had made her even more vulnerable. They couldn't exactly be together sexually anymore because he'd practically melt when she flamed out, whish she always would whenever she got too excited.

It took nearly an hour, but he finally had gotten into the traffic camera system around the bank. Nate, and Tori once she got there, helped describe where they ran off to which finally, came up with some results. Beck's truck was spotted nearly four blocks from the bank, and thanks to knowing the license number and following him with other traffic cams, Freddie was able to track to about where they might be.

"I know that place" Jade said over his shoulder.

"Where?"

"The location… I think I might know where they are. Beck's dad did some work for an office around here and Beck would take us to near there to make out." Looks spread throughout the group, as if to shame her. "Sorry… Anyway, there's an old factory there and some other building that's been torn down now. It's a big area, but I'm almost positive that's where he and the others are."

Once everyone got the info, they began to disperse to go get ready for action, leaving Freddie and Jade together.

"So, if I had known that all I needed was a vacant lot to get you-"

"Don't joke around with me, Freddie. I'm very sad… I need you, and I can't have you." She got very close to his face so the other's couldn't hear. "I can't even fucking get off. I tried using your gift yesterday and I destroyed it. I feel terrible."

Normally Freddie, who was very price conscious, would have been really upset that something he put a lot of money into had been destroyed, but he just held out his arms and they held each other for a few moments. Jade began to cry a bit, the tears immediately becoming steam and Freddie held her tight and tried not to signal that she was really hurting him with her heat.

* * *

Across town, Robbie, Trina, Beck, and Sam all sat around a table, in the middle of a giant showroom floor, inside an abandoned warehouse. The original plan was that everyone would get the same amount of cut of the score. Naturally, when it came time to actually divide it up, everyone had an argument for why what they did was more important.

"If it wasn't for me, that stupid redneck guy would have gotten us all."

"Yeah, Sam," Beck said, rolling his eyes, "Because none of us could have defended ourselves against that guy."

"Whatever… you wouldn't have gotten the money without me punching the shit out of the vault."

"Which if I had been alone in there," Trina added, "I could have done that without a single thing out of place."

"There's no way you could have gotten all that money out in time," Robbie said. "Given how long it takes you to do stuff with your phasing, we wouldn't have gotten out in time."

"You're right..." she said, submissively before shaking a thought off. "Anyway, I did all the work, getting you all in and out of there, and I deserve twice as much as blondie over here."

"That's fuckin' bullsh-"

"Stop!" Beck shouted, silencing the two girls. "Look, we all said that we would split the money fairly between the four of us. And that's what-"

"Even though this was my plan from top to bottom?" Robbie asked.

"Uhh…Yes…" Beck said, shooting him an annoyed look.

"So, I spent hours preparing the plan, that got us in and out without a problem, and then figured out a power system that would stop the others. I'm not saying you guys didn't pull your share, but I did almost everything for you that brought us to this point."

The two girls nodded silently, and were about to speak when Beck grabbed his head like he had a headache before pushing Robbie to the ground.

"What the hell, man?" he shouted down at Robbie. "Using your powers like that is really fucking uncool, man."

"I didn't mean to," Robbie said narrowing his eyes. "Must have just happened. My bad."

Beck looked far angrier than he had ever shown the others, his skin flushed with anger so much that his color was almost normal. He kicked Robbie again and stopped short of the second kick when they heard some noise outside.

The rumbling of an unknown car was more than clear as the four of them raced over to a window to look out and see who it was. Sam's heart hit her stomach as she saw Freddie get out of one of the two cars that were now outside their warehouse. Somehow the idea of confronting her love made her feel really guilty about what she had done.

The others felt less guilty and prepared for their friends. As per usual, Beck iced most of the floor in front of them, giving a large amount of space the others would have to cross, and a few feet from the sheet would be where Beck and the others would stand. Trina and Sam may have hated each other but when it came to business, as always they got ready and waited behind Beck. Robbie had rigged the building with a sound system so that his voice could carry through the whole room. It was abundantly clear to their guests once they stepped inside that these four were prepared.

"What the hell is going on with you, Sam?!" Freddie shouted, leading the charge in the doors, grabbing onto a nearby Nate for support as he realized he was standing on ice.

"Momma's gotta do what Momma's gotta do," she said coldly, trying hard not to let him get to her conscience.

"That's all well and good," Jade said, stepping up beside Freddie, melting the ice beneath the two of them, as well as Andre, Cat, and Nate, leaving Tori and Carly behind them. "I couldn't give less of a shit about you robbing some stupid bank, but you guys beat the shit out of our friends. That was pretty fucked up."

"Jade's right."

"This isn't even your fight, Benson," Sam retorted, seeing Jade and her love so close together drove her even deeper into anger.

"Look," Robbie said, "You've already lost this fight guys. We already beat the four of you, and adding three more just means we have ways to take you guys out too. For example, Andre look down."

"Yeah, what… ohh…" he said, realizing that if he powered up, he'd electrocute those next to him.

"Yeah, you can thank Jade for that one… I don't actually know if electricity conducts through ice or not, but I'm willing to guess you wouldn't take that risk. Same with you, Tori… I'm pretty sure that water form of yours would freeze if you even tried it. Cat, you already know what would happen if you tried to speed across here."

"You don't have a thing to combat me," Carly said, taking the lead towards them. Her body rising from the ground. "I don't need to walk on the ice."

"Actually," Beck said, about to freeze the girl, before Robbie put his hand up.

"There's something simpler here, Beck. I will bet, that like my mental powers, yours takes a lot of focus to move stuff, and yourself apparently, around. So, let's get your mind off of things… Jade, would you kindly focus on Carly and blow your fire at her if she even tries to use her power?"

Andre barely ducked out of the way as a wave of fire shot up to where Carly was. The web star dropped onto the hard ice and stood still, knowing that Jade would probably react faster than she could.

"I'm sorry," Jade muttered, wishing she could break from his spell.

"So, that just leaves stretchy guy and Nate…" Trina whispered into Robbie's ear, as if he was unable to see that. He shot her an annoyed look and put his mic down, shaking his head as he got back behind Beck, his nose bleeding a bit.

"Freddie, man… please tell me that you got a plan in that brain of yours," Andre said, feeling like the situation was insurmountable. "Or at least some stretching shit. Nate doesn't have the kinda reach to do much beyond like 10 feet, and they're like 20 yards away."

"Guys," Beck called out. "Like Robbie said, you're not going to win this, and we're not going to hand over the cash either. I don't want to fight or hurt anyone else… just leave us alone."

"Your power doesn't work on Nate, right Andre?"

"Only a little bit, Freddie," Nate answered back. "Doesn't hurt or anything, just kinda annoying."

"Think you could deal with some annoying for a few?"

Nate nodded as Freddie whispered that everyone move back except Andre, Nate, and himself. With the exception of Jade, who remained still, everyone did as they were told. Carly had to goad the goth teen out of her trance by using her powers, making Jade lunge at her with a fireball.

Once everyone was clear, Freddie whispered the plan to Nate and Andre while Sam and Beck prepared to walk across the ice to tell them to leave.

The next few moments played out extremely slowly for all those involved, but was over in minutes.

Nate summoned up a rock pillar from the near center of the room, breaking through the ice. Andre began shooting bright white bolts at his former friends, aiming for the speakers every so often. As expected, his power triggered over the ice and water, which would have electrocuted Nate and Freddie if they weren't immune thanks to the earth and rubber bodies, respectively.

Unable to see, the four criminals didn't notice Freddie reaching out to the pillar and using it as a slingshot to fire him across the room. Using his short time in the air to aim, he shifted so he could nail Robbie with his full weight, sending the nerdy teen across the floor, his glasses sliding away.

Free of his control, Jade turned and started applying fire to the iced floor, trying to make a path so that they could cross fast and help him.

Freddie made quick work of Beck as well, hitting him right in the gut followed by the face with some inflated hands. Though, as he touched Beck, he felt like something was really wrong with his power. He felt brittle.

The paralytic fear was his downfall as he felt something around his heart grip tight and he collapsed the floor, gasping for breath. The extra second was all they needed as Beck got up and froze Freddie where he stood, and pushed him to his knees. The air was extremely cold around Freddie and he realized quickly that not only were his powers not working, but he felt like he could break if they tried to beat him.

The others were desperately trying to get across when there was a shout from across the room and Jade turned and started blasting fire from her body forcing them all back to the entrance.

Freddie tried to move and push Beck away from him, but Beck blocked the push, and that's the time that everything went very bad very quickly.

As the cold rubber crashed against Beck's ice hardened arms, there was a sickening crunch that froze Sam and Trina in place as Freddie's arm broke off, separating completely from his body.

The two girls released blood curdling screams. This wasn't remotely what either of them had ever imagined and Sam thought she would have a heart attack from the fear and the anguish she was experiencing. She was half right on the heart attack as Trina, with glazed over eyes, suddenly 'ghost-ed' through Sam like she did Freddie, and raced out the back entrance, as the blonde dropped to the floor.

Beck looked at what he had done with utter shock and tried his best to apologize and for the first time since Freddie had met him, he looked utterly scared to death. The look of fear however, changed to a sick smile as he walked a few feet to grab a meter long metal pipe. Beck looked down at Freddie who was still in a state of shock at the loss of his arm. He looked up at the blue teen just in time to see his outstretched hand release ice cold air that froze Freddie's head completely. He then turned him to the only two people left in the room.

Jade snapped out of her trance and turned to see her boyfriend on his knees as Beck raised the metal pipe over his head. She looked over at Sam, who was gasping for breath and crawling towards Beck. Knowing neither of them could reach him in time, Jade had no choice but to throw a couple fireballs to stop Beck.

The move, however, was too late as the pipe was brought down just as the fire hit, one shot hitting Beck right in the chest, while the other missed and actually hit Freddie.

As the cold metal landed on his head, there was a very loud crash as it exploded, ice going everywhere, leaving nothing above the shoulders on his one armed torso, as both Sam and Jade watched what was left of their one true love fall to the floor with a sickening thud.

* * *

**Huh... So that happened. **

**Please review, comment, etc. I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to all the feedback.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Given the shocking ending last time, I really couldn't stop writing so this came out pretty quickly. I hope everyone enjoys.**

* * *

There was an eerie silence for a few seconds as everyone could not believe what they had just seen. Beck looked up at Jade, looking horrified as he dropped the pipe and backed away from Freddie's body.

"NOOO!" Jade screamed as she raced towards Beck, the intense heat from her body melting the ice inches before she touched it. Her whole body was slowly being consumed by the fire and eventually, she was a walking inferno.

The enraged teen could barely form words as she reached Beck and picked him up, his blue skin getting pinker by the second. Just as she began to burn him, she felt a deep pain behind her.

"This isn't right," Tori said, still gushing a gallon of water at Jade, trying hard to extinguish her before she did something she'd regret.

"Fuck what's right! Did you see what Beck did to him?!"

"Yeah," Nate said, coming up behind her, before placing his hand on her revealed shoulder. "But trying to do the same to him won't make-"

"Get your redneck fucking hand off my shoulder before I show you the meaning of scorched earth, asshole," Jade said coldly, still not taking her eyes off Beck.

Her former boyfriend looked like he was on the verge of tears, curled up in a ball as his natural blue color began to return. On the other side of the room, Carly and Andre were getting Sam up off the ground, her eyes never leaving the sight of Freddie's body as tears began to pour down her face.

Nate motioned toward Cat to come and help him with Freddie's body and the two of them brought the body outside and tried to get it into the back of Nate's truck.

Jade stood, nearly naked as her clothes, except for her bra and underwear, which Cat helped make for when she would burn through her clothes, had been turned to ash. Tori stood behind her, knowing that her friend would never be the same.

Tori placed her hand on Jade's arm and pulled herself in close as she held Jade from behind in her arms. She could see that there were tears pouring down her face, boiling before they could ever fall.

"Just… kill… me. Please," Beck said, coldly up to Jade.

"You don't get off that easy."

Finally, Jade turned around and hugged Tori tight, crying heavily into the youngest Vega's shoulder. Tori had no idea how to respond to this situation, and just stroked her back up and down while Jade got it all out. The moment could have lasted longer but there was a buzzing sound that jarred all three of them.

As the girls looked down, Beck reached into his pocket and answered the phone. His eyes went wide and the phone dropped as his skin turned incredibly blue and he reached his hand out to ice the girls.

Tori tried to move but his ice nailed her arm, just as Jade pushed her away. Tori cradled her arm as she fell, managing not to smash it as she landed. Jade, however, was now emanating fire from every inch of her body.

Beck sneered as he applied as much ice as he possibly could to the grieving girl, but he was no match for her overwhelming power. It was like déjà vu as Jade grabbed Beck by his throat and began to burn him.

"No!" Tori cried out, trying to stand out and stop her friend again. This time, when Tori's water hit Jade, it was already evaporating before it even touched her. Jade looked back at Tori, her face now nothing but green eyes in a raging fire, before she shot waves of fire at the youngest Vega, melting her frozen arm.

Tori, feeling like she was getting to Jade, took another step forward, and immediately regretted it. Her watery skin was drying fast and she felt if she got any closer to Jade she'd be completely dried out. The only thing keeping Beck alive was how cold his core temperature was, and even that was beginning to waver.

"That's not Beck doing that… I think Robbie's actually controlling him!"

"Back off, Vega. I don't care if Shapiro's in his head!" she shouted back.

"But-" Tori took another step towards Jade, but the angry goth turned and shot a wave of fire at her, forcing Tori to retreat into her puddle form and move back a bit.

Before she could re-form, she looked up as Beck looked scared to death before it seemed like a moment of clarity hit him.

He whispered something to Jade that Tori couldn't quite hear, but his words weren't meant for her. They hit Jade, and the look in her eyes told her it was really Beck saying them.

"I never loved you. Not like her."

Jade was over Beck for sure, but to hear this with the addition of what just happened completely blinded her to everything else in the world. She didn't know why she did this, but she dove her face forward and kissed Beck deeply, his face becoming scorched as Jade's fire burned brighter and brighter. There was smoke billowing from Beck's body as Jade slowly cooked him from the inside.

As the others walked back into the warehouse, they witnessed Beck's final moments before Jade threw him to the center of the room, nothing but a dried up skeleton husk. Her fire hadn't died down at all as everyone just looked at her, unsure of what to say or do to stop her as she marched towards them. As Jade reached outside, she saw Sam sitting on the edge of Nate's truck, her hands on her former lover's body.

"You!" she screamed at the weeping blonde. "This… all this was your fault!" Jade stormed towards Sam, who looked up at her with bloodshot eyes.

"Just… kill me," Sam muttered. "Put me out of my misery. I don't want to live in a world without him."

"I know," Jade said coldly, her hand reaching out to touch Sam's face. Her right hand held the side of the blonde's face as Sam closed her eyes and slowly waited for Jade to kill her.

Just when she thought that Jade wasn't going to do it, Sam felt a white hot searing pain along her face before Jade pulled away. There was a sick smell and a loud pop

"Death's too good for you. You deserve to live with yourself."

Jade's words caused Sam to open her eye to see the walking bonfire walk away from the vehicles to God knows where. After a few seconds, the others came out of the warehouse and looked at her with utter disgust. Only when Sam reached up to touch her face did she understand why. Her skin was practically gone, burned so badly that she didn't even feel her eye burst as Jade had burned half her face away, cauterizing her work so Sam wouldn't die.

Sam sunk to the ground, using her last bit of strength to touch Freddie's body before she passed out.

"We should deal with Jade later," Andre said, stepping forward. "Maybe that Gibby kid can help Sam when we get back to the house. Right now, we need to cover our tracks, and hide these two bodies. Then," his eyes narrowing at Sam and then back at the warehouse, "we're going to find out where fuck Robbie and Trina are. And we're going to make them pay."

* * *

Thanks to Nate, it only took a few minutes for them to get two holes big enough for their friends, and quickly dropped them into them, figuring that they should keep them there until they could come up with a plan.

Carly was beside herself as she cried over where Freddie was buried. Deep in her heart she knew that she loved him. Not in the way that Sam or Jade had by any means, but she loved him like a best friend who was always there for her. Sam sat at the grave, not moving or crying. If it wasn't for shallow breaths every so often, she could have been mistaken for dead. Carly wanted to hate Sam for what she did, but she knew that no amount of hate or anger could match what Sam was doing to herself. Nate stood over Freddie's grave and just made grunts and simple respectful signs before heading back to the truck.

Tori, Cat, and Andre stood around where Beck was buried. None of them were crying but they all felt extremely sad. Beck had done some very bad things but they knew what happened today wasn't really his doing. They held hands and Andre said a prayer for both guys before they broke apart and headed toward Andre's car.

The ride back to the West house was incredibly awkward and no one said a word for the entirety of the hour long ride. As they pulled into the driveway, Carly merely uttered a phrase before getting out of the vehicle:

"What am I going to tell Spencer?"

Unfortunately, they didn't have much time to develop a way to break the news as he opened the door happily and looked at the group.

"You guys teach your friends the error of their ways?" he joked, seeing that there was no humor in the teens, he changed the subject. "So… where's Freddie and Jade? Those two lovebirds-"

"Spencer, man…" Andre began, but Carly stopped him.

"Freddie isn't, uh, you know… he…" Carly could no longer hold back her tears as the droplets fell from her face.

"What she's trying to say is, he was trying to save us and stop those guys," Andre said, putting a hand on Carly's shoulder. "But… he, I don't know what went wrong, but he, uh… he didn't make it. He died trying to save us."

The color drained from Spencer's face as he looked at the teens, his mind racing to every possible thought, ranging from "What do I tell his mom?" to "I should have been there," and of course, "That could have been Carly."

Gibby had come downstairs after overhearing what Andre said, his own mind unable to process what he had just heard. He too felt like he should have been there, at least to maybe heal Freddie.

"So… what about them? Is Sam ok?" Spencer asked, trying to remain strong.

"Well, Sam's out in the truck here, but… Gibby, we might need your help with her."

"What happened?" Spencer and Gibby said in unison.

"Well…" Cat said, motioning for Sam to come to the house. "Something bad."

"Oh shit!" Gibby exclaimed upon seeing her face. "Sorry for the language but jeez… They did that to her."

"Nope," Sam said, still emotionless. "Jade."

"Whoa," Spencer said, "The rocker chick who owns this place?… How?… What?"

"Here's what happened," Tori began, and proceeded to tell everything that happened from the fight to what happened between Jade and Beck to Jade going insane and burning Sam before disappearing.

"If she's that messed up, maybe we should get the hell out of here," Gibby said, backing away from the door to get his stuff.

"Nah…" Andre said, "I don't think she's coming back here until she finds Robbie and Trina. But I feel bad for them when she does."

Gibby headed back outside and took a look at the damage to Sam's face. She looked like something out of a horror movie or like Harvey Dent in that one Batman movie Freddie made him watch like fifty times. Even with all this done to her, she looked like she was in more emotional pain than physical. Sadly, there was nothing he could do for that.

He placed his hand on her face, and she shot him a dirty look, signaling the real Sam was still in there somewhere. Once he touched her, her body went limp, her strength sapped, as bit by bit the flesh grew back, and the char fell from her face. The sickest thing, however, was watching her eye slowly grow back, like a balloon.

After about 5 minutes, she was as good as new, which meant the only barrier between her grief and her conscience had just been removed. Gibby helped her inside, earning the glares of all those inside, and once she was in her room, he shut the door and joined the others downstairs.

No one was really saying very much and just looking at the floor, amazed that in just under a day, two of their friends had died, two were lost entirely in grief, and at least one was responsible for it all. Everyone had just collapsed in Jade's den and after almost an hour, Andre, Nate, Tori, Carly, and Spencer all headed out to go find Trina and Robbie, and hopefully stop them.

* * *

A full city away, Robbie and Trina had stopped in a motel around Venice Beach, neither one saying very much throughout the drive. Trina knew that Robbie was responsible for what happened, but she couldn't really prove it beside the part where he made her phase through Sam. She was absolutely horrified as that what happened with Freddie, and her stomach was in a knot at what Beck had done. She wondered if her sister was okay, and worried a bit that Beck might be in trouble since Robbie called and told him to keep attacking. Trina certainly didn't regret leaving Sam behind, but she did feel a bit guilty for just bolting with Robbie.

The two of them trotted up to the room and settled down inside before Trina ever bothered to speak, being somewhat afraid of how he might react.

"Can I ask you something?" she said, sheepishly.

"Kinda just did, but sure, I guess."

Trina took a deep breath. "Did you make Beck do that thing earlier?"

Robbie stopped suddenly and turned to face her. "Do what thing?"

"The thing with the iCarly kid… did you make him kill him?"

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Robbie headed into the bathroom. "It doesn't matter," he called out from behind the door, running the sink. "I have a headache right now and I don't feel well."

"You didn't answer my question," Trina said, debating whether or not to phase through the door. The decision was made for her as it was flung open. "I need to know what-"

"You're going to shut up and you're not going to make another sound until I say so."

Trina was powerless as she couldn't speak at his behest, and she tried to fight back but she just couldn't. She began to get scared when she felt his cold and wet hands beginning to paw at her body.

"Now, Trina, you're not going to talk and we're going to have a very nice time, and if you do everything I say, I will let you speak."

Trina tried to squeal and scream at him to stop, but she couldn't make a sound. His hands began to undress her when the clothing phased though his fingers as she tried to slip away.

"Fine… you want to be like that? Stand right there and take all your clothes off," he said angrily. "And don't even think of phasing away from me right now."

Trina was against the bathroom door and frozen in place and her hands seemed to be acting on their own accord, removing her shirt and her pants before unhooking her bra and taking her panties off. Her eyes tried to send all the messages she could muster but she knew it was all for naught as he took steps toward her.

His hands, which she used to love were now kneading her breasts way too hard, and he just began abusing her body and touching her way too hard. Her body was responding to his touch, but it was more out of fear than anything.

"That's a good girl… just let this happen and nothing bad will happen to you."

A few minutes later, after he had sufficiently done what he needed to do to her nude form, he whispered to her.

"Now get on your knees and service me. Act like the whore bitch you really are."

Clearly the power was going to his head, and as Trina was powerless to dropping down and unhooking Robbie's belt, reaching inside his pants and fishing out his already solid member. She stroked him mindlessly, praying that this would end soon so she could run away.

"Suck it."

Trina opened her mouth and went to work on blowing her former boyfriend, and tried to think about anything else but this day. He took hold of her head and began facefucking her as tears rolled down her cheeks. As her deep regret, humiliation, and pain took hold, something unexpected happened.

"Fuck!" Robbie exclaimed as be smashed his dick against the hard bathroom door.

Trina had apparently mindlessly phased right through it. She had a self congratulatory look in the mirror but she still couldn't talk. Unable to lock the door behind her in time, Robbie burst in, his hand and penis, which was slowly shrinking a very bright red.

"You little fucking bitch. You're going to regret that," his hand slapping her fast so fast, Trina couldn't have dodged it if she tried. "I want you to phase your face but not your hair."

Trina's body responded and, grabbing tightly to her hair pushed her head into the empty bathtub, smashing her face into the spigot of the bathtub, unharmed thanks to phasing.

"Now, your going to stay like this, and not move a muscle, or I'm going to tell your powers to stop working, and you're going to have a reeeallly bad headache."

Trina nodded, scared to death.

"You want to know the truth? I whispered instructions to Beck right after I got up from when that Freddie kid hit me. He deserved it. He knocked me down, so he deserved to be knocked down a bit himself… but you wanna know his real crime?" He looked down at Trina who was breathing shallow breaths. "That fucker deflowered the love of my life. He fucked my beloved Cat so I decided to fuck his life. I would have let Beck join us, but he attacked me before those guys showed up and I certainly wasn't going to let him escape. So I framed him for Freddie's murder and left him to the guy's girlfriends, and I never cared for Sam anyway. For my entire life, I have been nothing but ignored by all my cool friends. 'The puppet boy is so weird' everyone would say. Calling me creepy, and I tried sooo hard to be the nice guy and be fine when all of my friends dated each other and nobody wanted me or respected me. Well, you know what? Those days are over and its MY turn to be the one that everyone bows to. You know, we could have had our 'happily ever after,' Trina. All you had to do was leave well enough alone, but now here we are, and you're kinda forcing my hand here."

He pushed her face a little further into the pipe until she felt it touch her hair before he, heard a slight noise in the room and pulled her head back up to face him.

"Turn solid, Trina."

Trina returned to normal and breathed a sigh of relief before a heavy pain struck her in the back of the head and everything faded to black.

* * *

Trina's eyes opened to nothing but blackness. She felt around her body and realized she was in some sort of box, and she felt around for anything else in there. As her hands felt along her stomach, she realized that she was still naked and there was a small flashlight and a note on her. She fumbled around, unable to move very much, and still unable to speak, until she finally got to the note:

_Trina,_

_You know those movies where the bad guy stupidly keeps the hero alive instead of killing them after they've explained all their plans? I know how dumb it is, and that should tell you how little I think of your chances. I really can't afford to have you around, and yet I can't exactly kill you for some reason. So here's my solution. You're buried about 10 feet down in the box, just deep enough that even if you tried, you couldn't get out by phasing. It's a good sized box so I figure you've got enough air to last a day or so, especially if you manage to phase enough to get some without swallowing too much dirt. I'd say I'm sorry it came to this, but truthfully, I think I'd be lying._

_-Robbie_

Trina crumpled the note up and desperately tried to scream for help but no sound was coming out. Realizing that this was really hopeless, she began to silently weep, thinking over all the wrong decisions she'd made, while she waited for her deserved end.

* * *

Robbie got back to his motel room at nearly 2am, wondering if Trina had woken up yet. He was exhausted, despite doing none of the work himself, instead using three burly construction workers to dig that hole and get her buried. Robbie sighed deeply and wondered if he had made a mistake; not in hurting Trina and his friends, but in not killing all of them. Robbie shrugged softly as he relaxed on the bed, happy that Rex hadn't bothered him in over a week, and quickly drifted to sleep.

Outside, a cab pulled up to the motel, letting out its passenger. The raven haired teen, with bright red streaks through her hair was dressed rather oddly, as if she had gotten her clothes from a costume shop. In fact, that's exactly what Jade West did, and as the cabbie drove away, he almost thought he saw some fire at the edge of her clothes.

* * *

**Lots of stuff going on for sure as we head towards the story's climax next chapter. Please review if you can as I always enjoy that. Hope you enjoyed.**


	5. Chapter 4

**I'm really happy that these chapters seem to be pouring out much faster than I thought they would. I hope everyone is still enjoying them and that you continue to enjoy. And now, our story's climactic chapter.**

* * *

The morning came way too fast for those staying in the West mansion. The group that went scouting for Trina and Robbie the night before had returned empty handed in the early hours of the morning, collapsing in the beds.

Tori knew she should probably be in bed with Nate, and just appreciating him, but after the gravity of the situation had fully reached her, she felt this overwhelming need to sleep in Jade's bed. The youngest Vega held onto Jade's pillow and took in her friend's scent. It had only been a few months since they had really become friends. Jade was everything to her in a friend sense, and bordered on something different entirely in other ways. While her nostrils flared at the memories that Jade and her had shared, her mind was drifting towards Beck.

She didn't hate Beck. A lot of the others, Jade especially, thought she should, but she didn't. He was just misguided and he made some bad decisions. She knew he wasn't himself at the end, feeling sympathy for what Jade did, and she found her body shaking with rage at Robbie for causing all of this.

* * *

On the other end of the house, Sam barely slept a wink. Her head pounded with pain, no longer from Jade's handiwork but from an inability to even process a thought. She would cry herself to sleep but the moment his nub face would show up in her dreams, she'd shake awake and cry again. He was all she could think about, and she was on the verge of destroying the bed from tossing and turning so hard.

When Carly got back, she went to try and sleep in her own bed, but the crashing noise next door shook her from that task. She bundled up and headed next door to Sam to hopefully calm her down. Carly was having mixed feelings about Sam. She'd been involved in some bad stuff before but it was never like this, and while she had no direct involvement in what happened to Freddie, Carly knew Sam blamed herself entirely for his death.

Carly knocked on the door and let herself in to see Sam sitting up in bed and staring at the wall.

"Sam? Are you ok?" Carly knew it was a dumb question and that her best friend obviously wasn't ok.

"No," she muttered, coldly, avoiding Carly's eyes. "I'm not, and I never will be."

"Sam…" Carly said, taking a seat next to Sam. "You know what happened wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was… I should have stopped it all. I never should have even been there."

"You're right," Carly said, finally earning a look from Sam, "You were with the wrong people, but that doesn't mean what happened to Fre-"

"I can't even hear his name, Carls…" she said, wiping away her bloodshot eyes.

"Well, I'm not going to stop honoring him. He practically saved us all and Freddie deserves to be remembered as a hero," Carly said, putting her hand on Sam's shoulder. "I get that you feel guilty and you know you paid dearly for it-"

"Not enough."

"Jade burned half your face off!" Carly said, stroking Sam's newly healed face. "But whatever… if you want to pay for what you think you did, then help us. You were with them. You know where the money is. Do you have any idea where they might be?"

"I know where the cash is, but I never really hung out with those two. Beck and I were close," Sam said, seeing a look in Carly's eye. "Not like that… not again. I learned my lesson about him. I knew who I loved and wanted to be with. Lotta good that did."

"You have to stop this feeling sorry for yourself crap, Sam Puckett. This is not who you are."

The two girls were silent for a while and they began to settle into bed, Sam actually feeling a bit better having Carly so close to her and just before the web star's eyes closed, Sam spoke.

"First thing tomorrow, I'll take you guys to the cash. But when the time comes, Robbie and his bitch are mine."

Carly wasn't going to argue with that or scold Sam on her language, and the two girls managed to finally get some sleep.

* * *

True to her word, as soon as the sun was up, Sam took Nate, Carly, and Tori to where they buried the cash, half a mile from the construction site. While Carly was clearly friends with Sam and Tori vouched for her, Nate couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious of the blonde bombshell. Maybe it was her attitude, but it had more to do with knocking him into a parked car just days ago. Despite some high hopes, it surprised no one that the cash was gone, with only a note left.

Sam reached to take a look at it, when Nate stopped her.

"Don't touch that," he said coldly.

"Why not?" Sam asked, backed up by Carly.

"Because," He began, grabbing it for himself, "I don't exactly trust you, and if he's communicating with you, that could be mighty troublesome."

Sam was clearly hurt by what he said, which is why Tori stepped in. "I think what my less than eloquent boyfriend is trying to say is, Robbie's powers are based on suggestion. While we've never seen the possibility of written word, if he left the note, knowing you'd look for it, then it might have instructions."

"Yeah," Carly said, "but those words could be to anyone."

There was some argument for the next few minutes on whether or not to read the note and who should. Finally, the decision was made that worked out for all. Nate summoned a large rock from the ground and Carly lifted it over Tori's head as the youngest Vega decided to read the letter. If Tori acted weird for even a moment, Carly would drop the rock on her.

Tori opened the note, averting her eyes at first and then when she saw Sam's name up at the top, she knew she was safe.

_-Sam,_

_First off, thanks for taking the fall for me and secondly, Samantha, would you mind snapping Nate's neck when you read this. I'd say I'm sorry that I took the money, but honestly, I'd be lying. Please destroy this note after you read it, and if you could go ahead and confess to the police for the bank job and murders, that would be great._

_ -%$&Robbie._

Tori was confused as she read the signature, noticing that a name had been written and then completely marked out beyond readability.

"Ok," she called out, turning around. "The note was for you Sam, I won't tell you what he told you to do, but suffice it to say, it would be bad. Couple more things… One, he is writing this completely using 'I' and 'me,' which makes me think that Trina might not be with him. That makes me really scared and worried-"

"I wouldn't miss her," Sam muttered, earning angry glances from everyone.

"That's her sister, Sam!" Carly said, smacking her shoulder.

"Yeah, and she's also the one who fuckin' ghost fisted me and stopped me from saving Freddie."

"Technically, she was acting under Robbie though," Nate added.

"Yeah, well, I 'technically' want to beat the shit out of her-"

"Anyway," Tori continued, rolling her eyes, "the second thing is that while the rest of the note is written very legibly, the signature is crossed out beyond what can be read and his name was written. Now he could have messed his name up, but I'm wondering if there's something else up."

"Nice detective work, babe," Nate said, touching her shoulder. "So, now what?"

"I guess we'll head back to the house and talk to the others. Compare ideas…" Tori said, crumpling the note up and tossing it back in the hole before walking back to the others. She didn't want to say anything to the others, but she honestly felt compelled to destroy it.

* * *

Back at the house, everyone had regrouped and now sat in the den, the tv going, but no one watching it.

"I still need to call Freddie's mom," Spencer said softly, his arm firmly on his sister, feeling thankful that she was safe. "Just wish I knew what to say."

"You could just stretch the truth a bit," Andre chimed in. "You could tell her that there were some bad people that he was trying to protect us against, and he was killed."

"Yeah, but what can be said about his missing arm and head?" Cat said, not realizing the callousness of what she just said. "I mean… she'd want to see him, right?"

Sam, sat in still silence, staring at the wall, her eyes still red from crying, and making eye contact with anyone except Carly made her feel excessively guilty.

"We don't even know where to look for her," Nate said, grabbing a drink from the fridge and earning a look from his girlfriend. "What? It's not like she's around to drink this stuff since she went nuts."

While Tori shot Nate an evil glance, Andre couldn't help but crack a smile at how those two were still going pretty strong despite all this insanity.

Carly was about to say something, when Sam put her hand over the brunette's mouth and began sniffing the air. "Guys," Sam said, getting as much of a whiff as she could, "I think something's burning."

The teens got up and took to the windows looking out to try and find the source of the burning smell, and as Tori took a step out of the door, she found exactly what, or more importantly who, was the cause of the problem.

"Jade!" she shouted out at her friend who was consumed head to toe with intense flames, burning the ground around her. The others gathered around her as she continued to cry out to her friend. "Jade! What are you doing!"

Tori raised her arms, sending gushes of water towards Jade who only flared up hotter, burning the ground in a two foot radius of where she was standing, the water turning to steam before it could reach her skin.

"Jade!" Cat shouted, racing towards the fiery teen, Andre tried to reach out and grab her but he wasn't fast enough and Cat barely turned away in time before running right into the inferno, as her shoes began to melt.

"I'm afraid Jade can't really come to the phone right now. Can I take a message?"

The teens looked as Robbie began walking up the yard towards them. He looked really ragged and his nose had clearly been bleeding.

"Don't take another step, Robbie. I don't want to hurt you" Andre said, preparing a lightning blast, and rethinking his words, "…much, but I will if you make me."

"Make you? I'm not going to, uh," Robbie gripped his stomach, as if something was very wrong, "uh, make you do anything, Andre… except electrocute Tori."

The youngest Vega didn't have time to react as a bolt went right through the watery teen sending her sizzling body to the ground. Nate dropped to check her vitals and she was breathing, albeit erratically. Narrowing his eyes as he stood up, he raised a giant rock hand from the ground to smash Robbie.

At the same time the hand rose, Cat decided to try and make a play for Robbie and ran right into the rock, knocking her self out. Nate rushed out to grab her and drag her back in to where they stood at the front of the house.

"This is kinda like the first time the group faced you guys isn't it? Except, ugh, it's just me now and I'm wiping, ah, the floor for you guys," Robbie said, cleaning his glasses slowly, trying not to reveal the amount of pain he was in. "Jade, would you please barbecue the rest of these guys?"

"Not gonna happen, kid!" Spencer shouted back, pushing the teens into the house, his wind powers sending gust after gust towards Jade and Robbie, managing to blow out nearly all of the destruction Jade had caused.

Robbie began mouthing something but no one could hear him, the overwhelming sound of the wind overriding his voice, and he, for the first time in this fight, felt uneasy. He tried to move closer, but he kept getting pushed back against the hurricane force winds. Finally, he had an idea.

Inside the house the teens braced themselves as they feared Spencer might blow out the walls or windows of the house at any time. Cat had been woken up pretty quickly, and they hoped she didn't have a concussion. Tori was slowly recovering from her injury on the couch, finally stirring as the heard the house phone ring. Immediately, they knew this was bad and no one moved to answer it, breathing a sigh of relief as his one way to stop them was currently stopped.

Then the answering machine kicked in.

The teens raced to find and unplug the machine before he could speak, but they were too late as his words echoed through the house. "Cat, stop Spencer for me."

The redheaded teen moved too fast for the rest of them as a high speed punch made contact with the back of Spencer's head, dropping the sole adult like a bag of potatoes, Sam checked him over quickly and made sure he was ok, before stepping outside the house.

"I thought you, more than anyone, Sam, would understand where I was coming from. Nobody else here understands what it's like to love someone and them not love you back. Your dearly departed boyfriend deflowered the girl of my dreams, and that's why he had to go." Robbie was quiet for a few minutes as his face contorted in pain. "A-a-and didn't Beck break your heart? I don't know why you would even bother crying over him. Either of you," he said, looking up at Tori. "I was tired of fighting to be noticed and for people to like me, so I just released control. Rex was always just in my head, and I guess when I got this power, and he stopped talking, I thought it was a blessing, but… I guess I have actually become him. And fuck," he muttered, smiling, "I feel fantastic."

"You took everything away from me, fuckface!" she screamed. "It wasn't enough that you took the money, but you basically killed Beck, who I actually had started to care about. And worse, you made him murder the love of my life. I'm going to tear you limb from limb!"

"Stop."

Sam spun around to face Gibby, who was dressed like something out of Rambo.

"Not really the time for dress up, Gibby."

"No…" he said coldly, taking a deep breath as he brushed past everyone, "I'm immune to everyone's powers and if I can get close to him I can stop what he's done to Jade."

"But that could be suicide… going near him means that Jade would come after you," Andre said, almost patting him on the shoulder, "and power immunity or not, if those flames get close to you, they're gonna be hot."

"I gotta take that chance… I'm the best chance we have."

There surely would have been arguments against what he was doing if he waited any longer. He marched towards Robbie, his hands outstretched ready to touch the pained nerd's face, but as expected he called Jade over to protect him.

"I'm going to help him, Tori exclaimed trying to leave, but when she tried to access her powers, she couldn't.

Bursts of water shot from Gibby's hands right into Jade's face, long enough to distract her and get close enough to Robbie and tackle him to the ground. Gibby felt an overwhelming pain immediately and let go of Robbie. It wasn't long enough to really steal his powers for more than a few seconds, but Jade was free. The dark haired teen rushed over to Robbie and threw him from one side of the lawn to the other, punching and scratching with her hot fingers until his face was a bubbling bloody mess.

There was a short gurgle, and Jade smiled, hoping he was taking his last breaths. But her blood ran cold when his words were formed, sending blood and red saliva everywhere.

"Jade, sdop." Jade was paralyzed at his words, as the others rushed over, but they couldn't reach them in time to stop what came next.

"I wand you do break your own neck, and I wand you do look ad me while you-"

Robbie's eyes went wide, as Jade's hands were grabbing to her chin and head, ready to twist when his sentence finished. Blood began pouring from his mouth as his eyes were frozen in fear before they began to roll upwards. The others pulled Jade away and pulled her hands away from her body as Robbie's body wriggled on the ground, as he gasped for a breath that wasn't coming.

In an instant, Robbie's body was still, but a second later they could see movement in his throat and face. Everyone geared up ready to put him down if he came back, like some horror movie villain, but the truth was even more horrific.

Fingers slowly slipped from underneath his mouth and after that, a full hand began to crawl out of Robbie's mouth, making bones crunch and organs squish as more and more of it slipped out until finally an arm, still moving slid out of the thin teen's dead body.

"Guess that explains why we never found it," Andre said incredulously.

There wasn't a question of who the arm belonged to, even covered in blood, and Jade's eyes went wide, speaking before she even intended to.

"Freddie…"

The others looked around at each other as the arm rolled over to where Jade had burnt the ground leaving ash. The arm wrote out a very simple message as best it could:

HURRY. TRINA BURIED. VENICE BEACH. EMPTY LOT BY MOTEL.

Freddie's arm gave out and Jade held it close for a second before it pulled away from her. Jade would have been supremely annoyed if this wasn't the creepiest day of her life.

* * *

"So, what happened to you?" Tori said to Jade, still clutching the arm as Nate drove the two girls, Gibby, and Andre to where Freddie had directed.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I kinda remember the warehouse, and killing Beck and hurting Sam, who I saw is all better. Less than happy about that, but maybe I over-reacted. Anyway… I got some clothes and decided to head towards Venice Beach, figuring that's where they would hide out. I spotted Robbie's car as soon as I got there. After that, I tried to burn the place down, setting everything on fire that I could. Then, I guess Robbie found me." Jade knew what actually happened, but she didn't want to revisit what happened between the two of them ever again. "Next thing I knew, he was driving us to my house and that's it."

"You really think Rex was in control of him all that time?" Andre asked, yawning from a lack of sleep.

"I don't think it matters," Nate said, coldly. "At the end of the day, Robbie allowed it to happen and that's bad enough. I'm certainly not going to mourn him for being weak."

Andre shrugged off Nate's rigid response, and there was a good amount of silence for the rest of the trip there.

Just as they arrived, Jade spotted the motel, or what was left of it, and noticed the nearby lot. They had barely parked the car when Tori and Jade burst from the car and searched for some area that looked recently dug in.

It took a few minutes, but finally they found a spot and Nate used his powers to unearth the box, and the girls went to tearing the top of it off, to find Trina inside. Tori put her head to her sister's chest and listened closely, hearing a very faint heartbeat. She motioned towards Gibby and he raced over to do his thing.

As soon as he touched Trina he felt himself sink slowly into the ground a bit, as he began to phase. Grabbing all he could to hold himself up, he got it under control and started to hold her neck. At possibly the most awkward time, as his hands touched the valley between her breasts, trying to heal her lungs as best he could, Trina's eyes shot open and she pushed the awkward healer away.

"What the fuck, Creepo!" she screamed, taking a quick look at her surroundings. Then she saw Tori, and what happened came back like a flood of memories, as she raced to embrace her sister.

The two Vegas held each other as they began to cry into each other's arms, everyone too busy enjoying the successful rescue of who they all thought was dead to notice that Jade and Freddie's arm had disappeared from the group.

* * *

**Whoa... Freddie's still alive? Certainly seems that way. I've typed and erased several 'armless' jokes here but they were all terrible, so I will let it slide. And Robbie certainly had a mouthful, for sure. Not really sure why I keep trying this terrible humor, but I am blaming the lack of sleep. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope to have the close up very soon. In the meantime, please review/give feedback. I always appreciate it.**


	6. Epilogue

**It's been a tough story to write, but it is finally done. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Once Trina was safe and sound back at the West mansion with the others, nearly everyone began to yell at her for her bad choices and ask her how she survived nearly 12 hours underground.

"Well, honestly, I don't really know. I was in the box for a while and I made the mistake of trying to phase and sit up, but it didn't do much good, but it let me breathe which I guess was the important thing. If you guys hadn't found me though, I don't know what I would have done."

"Died probably," Sam said, leaning against the wall of the house, earning dirty looks from the others. "What? She's the one who was screwing the insane fucker that's being buried in Jade's backyard."

"Are we sure that's a good idea?" Carly said, looking around to Jade who was still cradling Freddie's arm.

"Yeah… no one's going to look for him there. I think Nate's even going to put a rock there so looking underneath isn't even an option. Better than that asshole deserves."

"His family might," Tori said, still trying to be nice to the very end.

"No they won't," Trina said softly. "He never told me what he did, but he just said that he was free from his grandparents ever bothering him again and offered to do the same for mom and dad."

"I immediately retract everything nice I said…" Tori said, feeling a bit ashamed for her sympathy.

There was silence for the next few minutes as Spencer, Nate, Gibby and Andre came in and took a seat facing the others. There felt like so much that should have been said, but no one could really find the words.

"I think we should dig up Freddie," Sam said, looking at the stretching arm that Jade had draped around her neck, Freddie's hand gravitating towards Jade's chest as it always had. "He might still be alive…"

"Sam might be onto something,'" Andre said, giving it some thought. "All those recycling ads and stuff always made a point about how rubber and other plastics never really deteriorate or break down… maybe he's still alive and we just didn't know?"

"I don't know…" Spencer said, unsure if he could stomach the sight of his sister's friend like that. "Anyone else creeped out by how it looks like a mannequin arm made of silly putty?"

There were some awkward glances as that image actually seemed accurate for what they were looking at.

"We have to find out," Jade and Sam said, nearly in unison, sharing a glance that showed that while they may have been warring hearts when it came to Freddie, they were united on this issue.

Sam, Tori, Nate, and Jade, still holding tight to her beloved limb, all jumped into Nate's truck while he others took Andre's car to the burial spot, each one hoping for a miracle but fearing what they were about to face.

* * *

It didn't take long for them to get to the construction site, and the car ride was pretty uneventful. The only moment that really stuck out happened between Jade and Tori in the truck's backseat. Tori had gently touched Jade's arm, and whispered how happy she was that Jade was ok. Jade was surprised by the touch, but found herself comforted that her friend was there for her. All the snarkiness that she usually held tight to was whisked away and she smiled sweetly and Tori and held her hand for a few moments.

The sight didn't go unnoticed by Sam or Nate who tried not to read too much into the vibes between the two girls.

As soon as the truck halted by the warehouse where everything changed, Jade and Sam were out of the vehicle and rushed to where Freddie had been buried. Tori and Nate followed behind and he made quick work of the grave, lifting and moving the dirt around until they found him… and the sight was pretty disturbing.

They were certainly right that Freddie was still alive, but what lay before them was Freddie's body which was moving normally, seeing that he apparently had been trying to dig his way to the surface, but that wasn't the worst of it. The worst, was his head, which was in 8 pieces on the ground, each piece moving around on its own trying to reform into a functioning face.

Carly had to pull away and start throwing up at the sight, joined by Tori and Andre whose stomachs couldn't handle the sight. Jade and Sam were certainly horrified, but they just held onto hope that he might be saved. Then he spoke.

"Guys," the mouth tried to say despite being two separate pieces joining together. "I know this looks bad, but I think you… shut up… no, not you guysssss." Apparently the 's' was too much and the mouth separated. It rejoined again, and he continued, "Sorry… I need to be rejoined and I think Jade, you might… Yes, I know… sorry… could help me."

"Anything," she rushed her answer, pushing Sam back, happy to be the one that he asked for. "What do I do?"

"You could… strip for me baby… I mean… you could fire up. Then melt me just enough to get… well, yes, I get it, you're horny… jeez… Sorry, I'm kinda cracking up. Melt me and get me all back together."

Jade was honestly afraid of what was wrong with him, but she couldn't help but think it would be fixed it she saved him. "Here goes," she said, taking her jacket off, instantly producing flaming arms. Once she saw he was ready, she shot the fire towards his head.

"Aaah!" he screamed, causing her to stop. "No… keep going, ignore the screams until I say our safe word!"

The rest of the crew knew the seriousness of the situation but the fact that they had a safe word was probably one of the more humorous aspects of their relationship, and they waited with baited breath to hear what it was.

The fires returned and so did the screaming until finally Freddie shouted out.

"Peanuts!"

The crack of giggling luckily sounded out the sound of Freddie's skin crackling as Jade looked down at what she had done. Freddie was… well, he was in one piece, but he was currently shifting around, desperately trying to find a facial form that didn't look like a mutant. On the good side, his arm had been reattached and it seemed to work fine.

After nearly a minute, Freddie, fully formed, looking only slightly off, and nude from the waist up rose from his grave to face everyone.

"So… what did I miss?"

* * *

Instead of an answer, for the next few minutes, Freddie Benson was bombarded with stiff and tight hugs from Jade, Sam, Carly, and Cat. Spencer, Andre, and Nate gave him a handshake. Gibby tried to do the same, but the moment their skin connected, Freddie's body slumped over and his head looked like it had been put in a blender. Hiding his face from the other's he raced towards the vehicle to wait there until he had better control.

"So… that's what he really looks like now?" Sam asked, her heart skipping a beat, and feeling almost worse than she'd felt when he 'died.'

"I guess so," Spencer said, heading over to talk to Freddie as he was trying to shift back to normal.

"That's terrible… but at least he can change his looks," Tori said, covering her mouth.

Jade could only stare at the hole her love had been in only minutes before. Had she done this to him… too much fire maybe, she feared. She couldn't imagine the focus he'd have to exert for the rest of his life to control that just to look normal.

After a few moments, Freddie headed back towards the group, his eye slightly lower than it should. 'So, that was… I know," he said to no one again, which was starting to freak the others out, "something."

"So, you kinda saved us all, man." Gibby said, making sure he was staying away from Freddie as he spoke.

"Yeah… that was certainly… hush, I'm going to tell them… I guess I can control every atom of my being. I realized as I was unfreezing in this hole, that… you guys should have checked for a pulse, and-"

"Dude, you didn't have a fucking head!" Andre laughed. "I'm no doctor but that usually means something's dead."

"Anyway…" Freddie continued, his face muscles seemingly struggling. "I realized that I was in separate parts and so was my head. I could see what my eyes saw and little else, but I could feel everything. When my arm was thawed, thanks to some immense heat- thanks babe, by the way," he smiled awkwardly and winked at Jade, but his eye lid came up from the bottom of his eye, causing a twitch of terror from the others. "Sorry… I guess I'm having trouble. I felt my arm and I used it to go to the car's vibration and I stretched it thin to get inside the car and tried to stay on Robbie and Trina until I KNOW IT'S THE BEST PART… sorry, the hotel."

"Alright Hoss, as good a story as this one is… you ain't right?" Nate said, wondering if the nightmare wasn't over.

"I was kinda getting to that part," Freddie sighed. "My head and brain were split up into 5 parts when I got hit. So, 5 different trains of thought were going for over a day and I guess we're, or I, I guess, am still getting acclimated. Thoughts sound like conversations and it's hard to control… the government is controlling us all… Sorry, I mean... I can't exactly control that, my looks, and holding my shape. Kinda hoping it's not permanent."

Jade touched Freddie's shoulder and rubbed it softly. "It's ok, babe. Take your time."

Freddie took a deep breath before beginning again. "So once they got there, I was planning to act, but I never found the right moment since I wasn't sure if he saw me if his powers would work. So, I made the plan to go where he couldn't see me. I waited in the motel room for him to come back without Trina, and when he was sleeping- which I'm happy he did with an open mouth- I slimmed down to worm width and crawled my arm down his throat. I was going to expand once inside, but then I guess Jade showed up and I had to hold off."

"Ok, so that's seriously the grossest thing I have ever heard," Trina announced, trying hard not to get sick.

"Well, I originally had planned to take the back entrance," Freddie joked, earning wide eyed glances from the others who clearly thought this was even more in bad taste. "So, I tried to grow slowly," his eyes growing wide for a second and looking around "… like the danger of us talking out in the open while they watch… sorry… so his bones wouldn't like pierce me or something, which I think was having an effect, but when I felt him try and tell Jade to kill herself, I had to act fast."

Jade squeezed his hand tightly as she kissed his cheek and held him close, savoring this moment fearing for their future together if he didn't keep it together.

"The rest of it was instinct, I knew where we were so I knew that Trina had to be buried pretty close by so I led you here and kinda hoped you'd do the same for me once you saved her."

"Thanks again for that," Trina said, sitting on the truck away from everyone else. "I, uh… I'm really sorry for all that crazy shit I did. I mean, most of it was because of Robbie, but still, just kinda feel bad."

Sam and Trina shot looks at each other, wondering if this changed anything about the two of them remaining enemies. A subtle nod and half smile from Sam certainly made it seem like they might not be so bad off.

While the others gathered around Freddie and made sure he was ok, still amazed he survived, Trina and Gibby held back. They didn't exactly seek each other out, but it was only natural that they would gravitate as outsiders of the group.

The truth was, things had been ramped up so high that Gibby had hardly noticed the eldest Vega, but now that they were finally in a state of peace, he couldn't help but notice her.

"'Sup," he said, offering his hand. "Gibby."

"Yeah… I know, and I'm not even remotely interested," she said, barely giving him a glance before checking her nails to get the dirt out from under them.

Gibby tried to speak again, but the words weren't really coming. His shoulders shrugged as he turned from her.

"But…" she said, causing Gibby to turn back, "My last boyfriend kinda tried to kill everybody so maybe you're not the… worst… I could do."

Gibby shot her a smile and she grabbed his hand pulling onto the back of the truck.

* * *

Night fell quickly as the teens now hung out in Jade's backyard. The fire damage to the house was surprisingly minimal, thanks to Tori watering the house and Spencer blowing it all out. The drinks were pouring out for everyone and with the exception of Spencer, who refused to let go of trying to be the responsible person in the house, all the teens were beyond drunk.

Ever since Freddie's rescue, Gibby and Trina had actually gotten very close, especially in the face region. Their ridiculous PDA would have been annoying if everyone else wasn't distracted.

Tori and Nate were likewise very focused on one another. His large arms held her close to his body as they laughed and enjoyed the party. This may have been due to the drinking but it probably had more to do with what Tori had told him in the truck. She was unsure but this whole scary experience changed her mind, and so she told him that she loved him. He nearly wrecked the truck in surprise, but it certainly made him happy.

Sam and Carly had renewed their friendship for sure, laughing and discussing trying to make college plans. It hurt Sam to see Freddie with someone else, but she still held out hope he would realize it and change his mind. She wasn't even mad at Jade anymore, which was a huge step. Carly swore never to use her powers again unless she had to, something that her brother agreed on and promised with her.

Cat and Andre were feeling a bit sad. Of all of them, the two of them had been the closest to Robbie and his breakdown hit them hard. They each wondered if they could have helped him along the way. The quietly made a toast to their lost friend, as well as Beck, and drank to their memory until Cat decided to hit up Carly. The web star had rebuked her, sadly, and Andre told the petite and shy redhead that it was ok. The two had no romantic feelings for one another, but they felt so much closer after this experience.

Jade and Freddie tried to have a good time with the others but it was clear that the strain of maintaining his form was beginning to wear Freddie down. She was also worried about his broken mental state. Gibby couldn't do anything to fix that problem it seemed, and so it became a reality that he might never get better.

* * *

After the party died down, the two of them went to bed together. Jade had missed his body and tried desperately for some intimacy with him, but he just wasn't feeling up for it. She didn't hate just lying there and cuddling with him, but it wasn't what she was craving. She fell asleep on his chest and woke up in the middle of the night to his voice.

As she looked down at his face, she found herself feeling shamefully sickened by his appearance. His eyes were wide still and he was muttering phrases. He wasn't even responding to her trying to wake him up from… whatever this was.

"Topically applied fluoride doesn't prevent tooth decay! It does render teeth detectable by spy satellites…"

"Freddie, baby… are you ok? What are you talking about?"

He turned to her and gripped her shoulders, frightening the normally fearless girl. "The plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces are called aglets. Their true purpose is sinister!"

Jade jumped from the bed and threw on a robe and wondered if she should even be in bed with him. She couldn't just abandon him, but if he was this… whatever he was. Crazy? Paranoid? Lost? Jade ran through every possibility in her mind, before she decided to cool her head a bit.

The goth teen crept down the stairs slowly and headed for the kitchen. She opened up a pint of ice cream grabbing a spoon and just going to work on it, the need for a bowl never even crossing her mind. As the chocolate chips gave her mouth the semisweet taste she was craving she felt pretty bad about leaving Freddie up there by himself. Jade washed the spoon out in the sink and sighed as she opened up the large freezer door, to put the ice cream away.

"You know… there are actually 32 flavors… The last one was forged by Illuminati mystics and a taste will reveal the true secret behind what the government has been doing to our dairy supply."

Jade barely withheld a scream as she turned around to see Freddie, looking pretty normal, standing there peering at the ice cream container. "You… uh… you scared me, babe."

"Sorry… I was just having a bad dream," he ran his hands over her neck and shoulders, "and I figured I'd find you down here. Sorry for the conspiracy theory stuff. It's a really weird personality quirk I guess I never knew I had."

"Yeah, it's certainly something… Did you need something down here?"

"Just you," he said sweetly, and for a moment Jade forgot all about the horror and tragedy of the day and got to look into his beautiful eyes. He swept her into his arms and they shared a small dance in the kitchen before she kissed his lips and nuzzled her face into his neck and shoulder.

"I love you… I was really scared I'd never see you again," Jade whispered. "I did something bad."

"I heard about what you did to Sam and Beck. Not sure how I feel about that…" Freddie paused as if he was listening to someone before nodding. "Good point… the Sam part was the upsetting bit, for the record."

"Yeah… but your pal Gibby took care of her. I was actually talking about something else…"

Freddie's eyebrow raised in surprise and rose a bit too high and was not coming down even as he scrunched his face trying to make it go down. It was a strange sight, but Jade tried not to notice as she took his hand and led him up to the bedroom that was his the night Freddie and the other iCarly's had arrived.

"Now don't tell anybody about this, ok?" she whispered.

Freddie nodded and watched as she lifted the mattress up and reached inside of it. She felt around for a few minutes before finally withdrawing her hand. Inside her hand though were three large stacks of cash.

"Is that… the bank robbery cash Robbie and the others stole?" Freddie asked, incredulously.

"Yeah… there's more of it too. I grabbed it from the motel room Robbie was in while they were rescuing Trina. I don't remember a lot of what happened, but I remember the money. Took what I could without anyone noticing, and burned the rest. Feeling kinda bad about it now. Almost $100,000 there."

"And you're telling me…. Why?"

Jade began stuffing the cash back in there. "I don't know… I guess I expected you to talk me out of it. To turn it all in and all that good stuff. Or," she said, planting a kiss on his lips softly and taking her hands in his, "I thought we could use the money to start a life together. Get outta town. Get a nice place. Start a family."

Freddie smiled at her, and kissed her lips and held her close. He knew the right answer to this problem and it wouldn't be easy to pull Jade from her fantasy, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

But then again, a voice in his head thought, doing the right thing is so overrated.

* * *

**And there we have it. A couple fatalities and a seriously broken hero, but we made it through. Ending this was a tough call and I may come back to the story someday, but for now, I have to close the book on this AU story. It was fun and I hope everyone enjoyed even though it lacked some of the more 'action' oriented parts that people have come to expect. Thanks for reading and I hope to have another story, continuing the central story, of course, once I figure out where we can go next. Thanks again and please don't forget to review and comment. I'd even be open to ideas for where this, or the main story, could go next.**


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